Potions and Hospital Wings
by ewoodrp
Summary: Weasley twins are nothing but trouble and career ruiners. So better to ditch them while you still can right? A small story rewrite I've had for a few years. (OC/Fred)
1. Potions and Hospital Wings

It was a scene of chaos: Smalls figures huddled in doorways unsure of where to go, people running, papers flying everywhere and helped not in the least by the always moving staircases. And though Verity was used to it now, that didn't make it any less stressful. She weaved through the crowd trying to see over the older student, in hopes that she could find a staircase pointing in the right direction. Distracted while trying to map a route upwards, she happened to walk strait though a castle ghost. She started to apologize, but gave up when she realized it hadn't even noticed. She wished she could say the same. Verity pushed her way to a far wall where she huddled for a few minutes trying to warm up her frozen body

This was bad. She had potions next and Snape was not one to overlook tardys even if you were a member of his house. She couldn't wait to graduate here and make her way into the potion academia circles without the hook-nosed freak constantly looking over her shoulder. She would definitely find a way to surpass him. How wonderful it would be to see that horrible sneer wiped off his face as he regretted every unfair grade he and ever given her…

Verity's eyes suddenly widened. The halls had started to grow quiet. She had been too lost in her daydream! She really was going to be late. As she stumbled up a random staircase she tripped over something and fell. Suddenly the hall went dark. Verity looked around trying to wipe the darkness from her eyes. She felt as if she had been blindfolded and stumbled around feeling for the stair rail. No this wasn't in her mind, this was magic. Her heart beat quicken and she reached for her wand and attempted whispering Lumos.

No reaction. It felt like she was holding a small match instead of a powerful wand. She began going through her memory, trying to recall every spell that would emit some sort of light in hopes that it would penetrate the almost corporal darkness. But she had just finished trying lumos maxima and was moving on to lumos solem when she heard the sound of footsteps from behind her. Then a hand grabbed her shoulder.

Verity was scared. Verity was also trained in the art of self defense. Instinct took over. She turned and sent a fist flying, and felt it make contact with something soft. There was a cry, a loud crash, another crash and then moans. Verity ran in the opposite direction, reached the top of the stair case, stopped out of breath and finally the blackness began disappearing.

As she peered down the staircase her eyes finally fell on a bruised and bloody heap of two boys wearing Gryffindor uniforms. Verity cannot remember for certain but she's pretty sure that at some point near that time a string of obscenities escaped her mouth.

* * *

Hospital beds are strange, sanitary things. They seem to have their own hearts and speak up stories of unthinkable sights. Verity stared at hers. It was so white and clean and perfect. She hated with all her heart. She turned to glare at the worse for wear boys who had caused her to be in this situation in the first place. But immediately turned her head when she began to fear one might turn around. She turned to watch Madam Pomfrey busying herself in the medicine cabinets. For some reason, Verity had this hunch. This hunch that Madam Pomfrey was taking a long time on purpose.

Ms. Pomfrey didn't dare glance back at her patients. She could feel the slytherin girl boring eyes into her. She picked up a glass bottle, turned it around and pretended to read the label only to put it down and pick up another. She held back a sigh. She just wanted the twins to feel a little of the consequences of their actions. They'd always get hurt testing one of their experiments, wind up here and then be fixed up right away. Usually she was all for using magic to heal, but at least muggles we're more cautious when it came to potential injuries. She sighed for real this time. Maybe she should have married that muggle suitor from med school.

"Madam Pomfrey. I really am okay. I'm not the ones who feel down the stairs." The tiny Slytherin girl tried to point out.

This got two sheepish grins out of the twins when Madam Pomfrey finally turned around.

"Maybe not, but I know you've been trying to hide that hand of yours." Madam Pomfrey looked sharply at a surprised Verity who had been trying to slide her hand behind her back nonchalantly.

"Ah yeah…that…" was all she could muster as she pulled her hand out for the older witch to examine.

Verity wasn't sure how to approach the matter. She didn't exactly want to confess to punching someone; she looked over at who she thought was Fred massaging a black eye; it had been in self-defense, but it looked pretty bad now. Luckily Madam Pomfrey was never one to ask too many questions. She knew the minute she did, the minute students would stop coming.

With most of their bruises healed and fresh health tonics for each of them they we're shooed out the door. Verity peered up at Fred who was still sporting a black and blue eye socket.

"Hey Fred, um, sorry about the eye. I wasn't trying to aim for it really…" She finished off the not so apology with a shrug and a small understanding grimace.

Fred grinned back at her. "You know I'm pretty sure the old witch could have magiked it away if she wanted to. Guess she just liked your handiwork." The twins laughed and Verity allowed herself a quiet giggle.

"Can I ask what that magic was? The Darkness?" Verity pierced Freds with a inquisitorial stare. But he immediately looked up, seeming to examining the ceiling in detail.

The other twin attempted some sort of explanation which made little sense to Verity. "Ah well, new product you know, and well this moron" he motioned to the twin pretending to be preoccupied, "let one slip out of his bag and, well I reckon you crushed it when you found it, new design flaw to work out suppose, but hey worked pretty well once triggered, so that's good news. Good thing it didn't explode you know?"

He turned back to Verity whose mouth hung open. "…Explode…"

"Oh just a joke!" He added very quickly with a nervous chuckle.

The 'preoccupied' Fred suddenly clapped his hands together. "We should go to class or something now. Weasley twins are never truents!" He winked and pushed the other twin along down the hallway. "Try not punch anymore poor lads now." He called back in some form of what must have been a goodbye as the twins quickly walked away.

Verity could hear their voices echo down the hall.

"Guess we know who the good looking twin for sure is now"

"I don't know, don't you think it gives me an air of mystery and badass?"

"It gives you the air of 'I've just been punched in the face by an 8 year old girl."

And thus it continued. Verity shook her head and headed out to Transfiguration.


	2. Ministry Forms and Dubious Deals

When the owl came, Verity knew it couldn't contain good news. Being a muggle, her mother only used snail mail which Dumbledore was kind enough to have rerouted to Hogwarts for those with families in the muggle world. So that left her dad's family or the school. Sure enough, the words of the letter fell hard into Verity's reality and she reeled back in pain after finishing the letter. So stupid, this whole situation, this life she had been put into. But only a few seconds later she had a plan. Would it work? She wasn't sure, but she had to act now if she didn't want a permanent stain on her family's reputation; And to Slytherins that was everything.

She found them in an empty classroom playing with potions. Fred's eye had healed nicely and it was now close to impossible to tell the two apart again. They were whispering heatedly over a cauldron.

"I think the ashwind egg should go in after the moonbeam stones."

"No, no, no, the textbook says the ashwind egg goes in first!"

"But can we trust the instructions when we're changing the recipe so much?"

A quiet female voice spoke out causing the twins to jump, "Ashwind egg should go in first so as to not create a high concentration moonbeam solution and accidently enthrall yourself."

The boys quickly moved to jump in front of their work in a laughable attempt to block it from view considering the large mountain of ingredients piled up around them.

The twins peered at the girl standing in the doorway, "You're…?" "…Verity?" They finished the question and glanced at each other before staring back at the short girl leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and a serious frown on her face.

"And you're _attempting_ to make a love potion, which is against school rules by the way."

George's face pulled into a concerned frown at the threat underlined in her statement, but Fred only started grinning his trademark salesman smile.

"Well, if it isn't the girl who right hooked my face. Looking to buy our new products? Boys aren't interested in girls who punch them? I'm afraid to tell you you'll just have to wait; we're still in the developing phase."

Verity smiled, "That's too bad, maybe I should let Snape know, I'm sure he could give you _tons_ of advice. What with you using his ingredients and all." Verity could play this game all day.

Fred only smiled further. "Oh, but we were so hoping to surprise Snape. If anyone requires a love potion it's him."

"Perhaps I could be of some help then. As you'll need to be out of permanent detention to even hope of finishing. But I can help keep your surprise I suppose, for the right price of course."

The threat now hung heavy out in the open and Fred had dropped his cheerful façade. The twins exchanged doubtful glances.

"I don't know why you think we'd make a deal with a Slytherin." "We've dealt with Snape before."

She knew it wasn't going to be as easy as that so she had come prepared to put more on the table.

"I think maybe you'll like you're end of the bargain. I know a good bit about potions and McGonagall usually gives me access to the restricted section unlike you guys… I bet I could help you fix.." She glanced doubtfully at the cauldron that was now starting to emit ghastly green bubbles, "well, whatever that is." She waved disdainfully.

The twins glanced at each other meaningfully. And Fred slowly said the word 'restricted section' as if testing to see how it tasted in his mouth. Sweet apparently as his face broke into an excited smile.

George turned back to Verity. "What could you possibly want so badly that we have?"

Fred turned too, a large charming grin on his face. "This isn't the first time we've been bribed to go on a date you know." He nudged George playfully.

Verity glanced back and forth between the confused and confident faces and began fiddling with the necklace around her neck. This was a large request.

She glanced down. "Well, your father works at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department right?"

The twins frowned simultaneously.

"This has to do with-" " _Dad_?" They finished their thought together confused.

By now Verity had reached into her pocket and was rolling her wand around in one hand, while fiddling with a button of her cloak with the other. Her face remained stoic and unreadable, but she still hadn't made eye contact with either of the twins.

"My great uncle he's well an idiot and well he got into some trouble in that department and um I kind of need the scandal to be kept quiet for a bit."

She glanced up quickly to gage their reaction.

It was met with stunned silence and soon after some loud exclamations.

"Bloody hell!" "That's pretty illegal even for us!"

This was going about as well as Verity had imagined it would.

"I just need one little paper to go missing. I've looked it up, if the department doesn't correctly fill out an evidence report they can't prosecute a suspect and-"

"He could get fired if anyone found out!" George was indignant and Fred nodded along vigorously.

He started to glare out the small girl whose gusto had long ago worn off. "Maybe that's your plan… I wouldn't put it past a Slytherin."

"Look, I can give you all the information, its true about my uncle, his name is Steven Bainbridge. And it's really unlikely you would be caught. A single missing paper from the lame-duck department of the ministry would go unnoticed…"

Verity spluttered out for a second as she realized the affect her poor choice of words were having. She paused to recollect herself. "But I really will make the deal worth your while, I do know a good bit about potions, and which restricted books could help you guys."

The boys still seemed dubious and glanced at each other. Fred cocked an eyebrow but George only shock his head. It was if a silent argument was taking place.

Finally George spoke, "We'll look into it and get back to you." He stared up at her seriously

"But if we find out you're lying you better sleep with one eye open Slytherin!" Fred had started grinning again, but it was less than reassuring.

Verity let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Okay, just let me know." She turned to the doorway and than paused. Rotating her torso she looked back at them and showered them with the smile she had worn at the beginning. "Oh and don't worry. I won't tell Snape, _yet_."

* * *

A hand slammed a form down on the desk Verity was working at causing her to flinch. She turned to see a Weasley twin smiling at her. She thought it was Fred but she wasn't sure.

"Found the form and your story holds out so far, so we're gonna give you a chance." He slid the form towards her.

Verity quickly picked it up and read it over. Yep it was all there, every last drop of ink. She glanced at the smug twin with a hand still leaning against her desk.

"You actually found it! How did you get it so fast?" She couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice.

"That's a secret love. But before we agree to anything…" He reached over and plucked the paper out of her hands, "We need to make sure you follow through on your end of the deal." He smiled down at her clearly enjoying himself.

Verity had to muster all her strength not to fight him for the paper then there, and Fred seemed to notice her frustration. He only smiled further. Finally she forced her face into a some semblance of calm.

"Of course, what do you need?" She made herself unclench her jaw, and looked up at him innocently.

"Well let's say a week's trial. We see how much of a help you actually are and then you can have this stupid form."

Verity paused. She had meant to follow through on her part of the deal anyways so the test wasn't a big deal, she didn't like owing debts; magic often found a way of righting those wronged. But she wanted the form destroyed as soon as possible. And she didn't like how the tables had turned. It seemed she was now at their mercy and it made her sick. Well, the important thing was that the form was missing, right? She could put up with it being used against her for a week she supposed.

Finally she nodded, "I suppose that's fair."

"Perfect." The Weasley straightened up and ran his hand through his hair smugly. Which only served to piss of Verity more.

She suddenly smiled sweetly and stuck out her hand. "Unbreakable vow then?"

The fear and surprise that replaced the smugness of Fred's face was well worth it.

"Wha-, That's- Are you crazy?!"

Verity couldn't hold in her laughter. "Pfff, calm down Gryffindor, you're not supposed to actually be as dumb as you are brave."

Multiple emotions flitted past Fred's face as he decided whether to find the prank funny. Finally he gave in and chuckled. "Fine you got me, meet us in the classroom at 8 tonight."

"Yes sir!" Verity mocked him, glancing back down at her homework.

"Oh shut it Slytherin, you are in a library you know?" He kept smiling though while motioning at Ms. Pince stalking through the aisles. "See you tonight, don't be late!" And with that he fled the library as Ms Pince watched him like a vulture, which ironically she quite resembled.

Verity rolled her eyes, but continued smiling after she turned back to her studies; the success of her prank and the prospect of getting her hands on that form lifting her spirits.


	3. Spells and Secrets

The week of experiments went off with a cordial start. Verity had been taught not to show up anywhere empty handed and as such the twins we're delighted to find her peering over a large stack of restricted books in her arms when she arrived at the classroom the first night. They perused through them taking notes as they went, while Verity looked over all their current design proposals and made edits. She was surprisingly impressed. There was an ingenuity to many of these products that she had never seen before. Whenever she asked a clarifying question she couldn't quite keep the amazement out of her voice and Fred would answer with a smugness that would normally have annoyed her. But she found she was having too much fun and well, these were things to be smug about really.

But George remained stand-offish, only answering question when Fred asked him directly and then only in concise sharp answers. Verity could have cared less, but Fred seemed to be trying too hard to make up for the stony silences by joking with both of them.

About an hour in they switched work; Verity looked over the notes they had taken while Fred and George looked over the edits Verity had made to their recipes. Verity became lost in a book while the twins debated the logistics of getting the new ingredients she had outlined and how best to tweak the new products, so she jumped slightly when she heard her name called.

She looked over to see not Fred talking to her, but a frowning George.

"Why do you think we should put the rose thorns in the Twilight Moonbeam potion." There was something accusatory in his voice and Verity instantly felt defensive.

"Well it will increase the potency without actually interacting with the moonstones. Moonstones can be tricky to work with so its convenient." She didn't break his gaze.

"I don't think it's necessary, potions isn't just about adding stuff because you can." His tone had turned notably derisive.

"You asked for my recommendations and I gave you it. If you think you can do it better than do it yourself Gryffindor." Verity's voice had also become hostile and she faintly realized she was falling to his level. But she didn't care. She may not be in Ravenclaw but she still had a certain pride when it came to school and grades, especially when the subject was Potions.

George rolled his eyes. "You think because you're in Slytherin and come from a 'pure' family you know _everything._ Newsflash, you're not that great."

Verity glared, "I knew you were making potions, I knew you were stealing from Snape, I knew you'd need help; what exactly have I been wrong about so far? Maybe the fact that you are even more incompetent than I thought!?"

George stood up quickly, with clenched teeth and Verity moved to grasp the wand in her pocket, but he stayed where he was.

"See you're wrong on all accounts. We haven't been stealing from Snape at all and we'd be just fine without a _Slytherin_ like you." He practically spit the word Slytherin as if it was a bad taste in his mouth.

By now Fred was up and moving to calm George down, hands up reassuringly.

Verity opened her mouth to retaliate but closed it as the meaning of his words sunk in. She glanced around at the piles of ingredients around her. She probably should have noticed it before, but there was no way they could have gotten all these ingredients without Snape catching on.

Fred had started speaking, "I think maybe we should call it quits her for toni-" but Verity cut him off.

"Where then? Where are you getting all of this?" She fixed them both with a glare.

The anger washed away from George's face as he realized he had made a mistake. Fred too had stopped talking and looked slightly alarmed.

The both just stood there pale faced and silent, staring at her guilty.

Fred scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly, "Well you see, we-"

"It's fine, you don't need to lie to me," Verity interrupted again. "I'm going back to the dorms, see you tomorrow I suppose." She swept up her cloak and left without a second glance back.

It was silent for a moment as the room took in her absence.

"George…" Fred tried carefully.

"I know, I know. I just don't trust her." George sighed and glanced over at his brother.

"I know she's Slytherin and I know she kind of black mailed us, but we could really use her help."

"Yeah I know, but it's not just that, I didn't have a chance to tell you, but before this I saw her with a Ravenclaw girl. I think she was threatening her too. I'm not really sure. But I don't want to work with one of those 'pure' Slytherins."

Fred's face had grown grave. "Are you sure"

George sighed again. "I don't know."

They sat there in silence for a moment and the Fred looked up.

He patted his pocket, "Maybe it's time we put the old map back to use and start our sleuthing again."

George grinned, "I suppose it is time, oh brother of mine."

Verity wove her way grumpily back towards the common room after class the next day. She hadn't slept well and she had the suspicion it was all the twins fault. 4 more day, she gritted her teeth, 4 more days and then she'd have the form and freedom. She turned a hallway but came to a stop at the scene before her. Two Slytherin boys we're talking to a pretty Ravenclaw girl. She was tall, tan and had beautiful curly hair.

"What lucky guy are you waiting for?" crooned the taller Slytherin reaching out and slightly tugging at a lock of her curls. The girl frowned and glared at him, swatting his hand away, but staying quiet.

"Wait I think I recognize her, she's the mudblood Ravenclaw. Don't touch her man, you'll get dirty." The shorter one pointed out in disgust.

The girl winced at the crude word, "I'm an effin halfblood, my father was a wizard you tools, not that it should matter."

The older slytherin's mouth turned up cruelly on one side to from a semblance of a smile. "Oh yeah, and what wizard line is he from then, this 'wizard father' of yours."

She remained quiet. He raised his wand at her silence, "Thought so, mudblood."

But before he could cast anything, there was a yell of "Stupify!" and he crumpled to the ground. The girl and younger Slytherin watched astonished as he fell. And as the Slytherin turned to find the spell caster he too was hit and fell forward onto his face.

The Ravenclaw girl bent down to survey the damage as Verity walked to her side.

Without even glancing up, the Ravenclaw stared glumly at the ground, "Hi, Sis."

"You shouldn't be here Kana."

"I know, but we need to talk."

Two pairs of brown eyes peeping around the next hallway surveyed the scene in shock. They exchanged meaningful glances as they followed the two girls towards am empty classroom.


End file.
